Katie Holmes makes her first public appearance since her divorce, lands another new job

Katie Holmes at the Style Awards on September 5 (Getty Images)Since
Katie Holmes' sudden split from Tom Cruise in June, she's kept herself
far away from any red carpets, and has instead settled into life as a
full-time Manhattanite with her daughter Suri. However, all that changed
last night when she made her first public appearance since her divorce,
and it sounds like we're going to be a seeing a lot more of the newly single star in the near future.

Looking effortlessly stylish in a black button-down shirt and a shimmery
gold skirt with beading around the waist, the 33-year-old was on hand
at the Style Awards at Lincoln Center on Wednesday night to present
Carolina Herrera with the designer of the year award. At the event,
which helped kick off New York Fashion Week, Holmes happily posed for
photos with Herrera, chatted up "Smash" star Katharine McPhee, and
hugged actress Amy Adams. People magazine reported that Holmes
"seemed like she was in a great mood" at the awards show. "Everybody
knows she loves fashion, so she was happy to be here."

Holmes' presence at New York Fashion Week will be much greater this
weekend when she and her longtime stylist, Jeanne Yang, hold their first
formal presentation for their Holmes & Yang line. The event, which
will take place Sunday, is expected to be quite a big deal and will be
held at "the tents" in Lincoln Center, which are often reserved for the
more seasoned designers. In a new interview with WWD, Holmes,
who started the line with Yang in 2008, said the two decided to do a
formal presentation this year "because the brand is growing and
expanding … We thought we would have something a little more
substantial." The now-single mom also appreciates that the job is family
friendly. "When Jeanne and I decided to do this — we're both mothers;
our daughters are very good friends — and I said, 'Jeanne, this has to
be something that we enjoy, because we want to do it with our girls
here,'" she told the paper.

Holmes greeting designer Carolina Herrera (Getty Images)

Holmes, who reportedly walked away from her marriage from Cruise with
nothing other than "modest" child support, has also inked a lucrative
new deal to be the first celebrity face of Bobbi Brown cosmetics, and in
fall 2013 Holmes will have her own collection for the brand. The deal
came about eight weeks ago — just after she was said to have
"blindsided" Cruise by filing for divorce. Brown said they met and
quickly bonded over afternoon tea. "It was, 'Oh, my God, you would be
the perfect face for Bobbi,' Brown told WWD. "We weren't
looking for a celebrity, just a cool, amazing woman who would fit with
our brand. And she's just ridiculously naturally beautiful." Holmes, who
will appear in ad campaigns as well as in-store displays for the line,
joked: "I will be watching over every woman as she buys her lipstick."

Also on the horizon is the actress' return to Broadway. Four years after
appearing in Arthur Miller's "All My Sons," her latest project, "Dead
Accounts," opens November 29. "It's a medium I really enjoy," she told WWD
of the rigorous world of theater, which will require her to perform
nightly. "I'm a schedule person. I like to have a routine. You're also
very in touch with your audience — they're very much a part of the show,
which is obviously something you don't have in film. You get to know
people in a different way. The matinee audience is obviously very
different from the Saturday night audience. You learn about material —
you really start to understand what works and what doesn't. I think both
film and stage are so challenging, but in different ways. With film,
yeah, you have another take, but a lot of the time you're losing the
light, so you better nail it on that take. I haven't found any part of
acting to be easy."

That said, Holmes sure does appear to be acting quite happy with her
fun, full new life. And she won't allow the constant media attention
following her divorce get her down. "There are a lot of people with much
bigger problems and who are less fortunate," she told WWD. "I try to keep it all in perspective."